Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Andy Li, the founding partner of Biosense Global LLC. Andy has attended nearly every RESI event in the last 2 years. RESI is a partnering event that enables early-stage life science, MedTech and digital health companies to meet and interact with investors and strategic partners based on mutual fit. Recently, we learned that Biosense Global has invested in two companies that Andy first met at RESI.

In this interview, Andy discusses his perspectives on his RESI experiences, Biosense Global’s investments in companies attended RESI, and some suggestions for fundraising CEOs.

Jessica: To begin, please tell us a little bit about your background and your fund.

Andy: My name is Andy Li, and I am the founding partner of Biosense Global LLC. I have more than 25 years of biomedical research and biopharmaceutical industry experience with proven track records in global drug development in multiple therapeutic areas, alliance management, and business development. Currently, Biosense Global invests in early to mid-stage biopharma and Medtech projects. With our R&D facilities in China, in-licensing assets from the U.S. and Europe to China would be an important consideration.

Jessica: How many RESI conferences have you attended? What was your first impression of the RESI Conference series?

Andy: I’ve attended RESI conference six times to date, and the upcoming Boston one will be the seventh. One thing I enjoyed about attending RESI is that I think RESI attracts early-stage companies with good qualities. The companies I met in the previous RESI have solid science and great teams, and RESI allows investors and companies from around the globe to build connections easily.

Jessica: What successes have you experienced through RESI?

Andy: We’ve invested in a company focusing on immuno-oncology that I first met in RESI. The company is called PrimeVax, and this company uses a combination of the dengue fever virus and autologous dendritic cells to induce a strong immune response along with personalized tumor targeting. In addition, we’ve invested in another company call Curtana Pharmaceuticals. I met this company at a previous RESI conference, and we continued a great relationship that eventually led to an investment. Curtana is developing therapies for the treatment of brain cancer, including glioblastoma in adults and pediatric high grade glioma in children.

Jessica: In your opinion, what are the greatest strengths of RESI?

Andy: RESI is a well-organized conference, especially in its online partnering system. Compare to many conferences I’ve attended before; I think RESI has a solid platform that allows investors to have a better understanding of attending companies and book meetings easily online. Also, since Life Science Nation has great connections with many companies in your platform, I think this helps you in organizing the RESI conference, and your significant portion of company connections also help us to find ideal companies that match our investment criteria. Another thing is that I think you choose great times to hold RESI conferences, for example, you hold RESI concurrent with BIO or JPM, and this attracts investors to attend all these events at one time to reduce travel inconvenience.

Jessica: What were some aspects that differentiated the companies you’ve invested in vs. others?

Andy: Overall, I’ll look at three aspects. First and the most important one to me is whether the company’s technology is unique and innovative. Second, I’ll look at the company’s management team – I prefer a solid team with relevant experiences. Last, I think it’s also essential that the company’s investment value is reasonable.

Jessica: How can companies better prepare for an initial meeting with your group?

Andy: Sometimes, early-stage companies that founded by scientist-entrepreneurs may only focus on the technologies. I’ll suggest companies try to touch on technology, IP, commercial potential (more important for not well-known indications), competitor analysis, and fundraising plans, etc.

Jessica: Do you have any suggestions for RESI?

Andy: It would be great for you to give suggestions for attending companies to know what aspects they can cover in their presentations and slide decks. This will help increasing companies’ qualities in RESI.

About Biosense Global LLC:

BioSense Global, LLC is an NJ-based venture investment firm that was founded in 2016 and focused on bridging Eastern and Western innovations and investment opportunities. Biosense invests in early to mid-stage biopharma and medtech projects. In addition, the company has R&D operations in China. Biosense is currently looking for new opportunities globally.

Hot Mandates

The firm is focused on therapeutics companies and does not invest in medical devices, diagnostics, or digital health. The firm is open to considering assets of very early stages, even those as early as lead optimization phase. The firm considers various modalities, including antibodies, small molecules, and cell therapy. Currently, the firm is not interested in gene therapy. Indication-wise, the firm is most interested in oncology and autoimmune diseases but has recently looked at fibrotic diseases and certain rare diseases as well.

The firm is opportunistic across all subsectors of healthcare. Within MedTech, the firm is most interested in medical devices, artificial intelligence, robotics, and mobile health. The firm is seeking post-prototype innovations that are FDA cleared or are close to receiving clearance. Within therapeutics, the firm is interested in therapeutics for large disease markets such as oncology, neurology, and metabolic diseases. The firm is open to all modalities with a special interest in immunotherapy and cell therapy.

A strategic investment firm of a large global pharmaceutical makes investments ranging from $5 million to $30 million, acting either as a sole investor or within a syndicate. The firm is open to considering therapeutic opportunities globally, but only if the company is pursuing a market opportunity in the USA and is in dialogue with the US FDA.

The firm is currently looking for new investment opportunities in enterprise software, medical devices, and the healthcare IT space. The firm will invest in 510k devices and healthcare IT companies, and it is very opportunistic in terms of indications. In the past, the firm was active in medical device companies developing dental devices, endovascular innovation devices, and women’s health devices.

A venture capital firm founded in 2005 has multiple offices throughout Asia, New York, and San Diego. The firm has closed its fifth fund in 2017 and is currently raising a sixth fund, which the firm is targeting to be the largest fund to date. The firm continues to actively seek investment opportunities across a […]

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Companies from all categories of life science are encouraged to apply to Innovation Challenge for RESI Healthtech Week. Eligible companies can apply to Day 1 the First Coast Innovator’s Gathering, Day 2 RESI Global Partnering or both. Applicants will have the opportunity for excellent visibility among investors and strategic partners.

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